forage

Slow and steady

August 28, 2016 by Keri

I love watching the chimpanzees forage for the food we spread throughout Young’s Hill (the chimps’ outdoor enclosure). Each chimp has their own strategy. Jody usually gathers as much food as possible, as quick as possible, before heading back to the Greenhouse to eat.

And Foxie tends to eat as she goes and makes multiple trips throughout the day to look for more food. She seems to abide by the slow and steady method of foraging.

She ate beets and chow on round one…

…carrots on her second round…

…and potatoes on the third round.

Finally, she took some time to take in the views from the top of one of the structures.

Jody’s mission this morning

August 14, 2016 by Keri

Following a routine each day allows for the chimps to know what to expect next. We start by serving a snack in the morning shortly after arriving. Then we clean the Greenhouse portion of their enclosure and once that is done, we finish serving breakfast. Sometimes, instead of serving meals, we mix it up by spreading the food around the various enclosures for the chimps to forage. Either way, the chimps know that when we are finished cleaning, locking up and going through all of our safety checks, they will get access to the newly cleaned area. Shortly after breakfast, they are given access to Young’s Hill (their outdoor enclosure). Following this routine helps the chimps make their own decisions about participating in meals and how they would like to spend their time (staying indoors or exploring Young’s Hill, for instance).

This morning, Jody seemed to be on a mission after breakfast was done. Knowing that I would open door Y (the door leading from the Greenhouse to Young’s Hill) after breakfast, she sat right by the door waiting. As soon as I did, she went straight for a mound at the top of the hill and I followed her (from the other side of the electric fences, of course) to see where she was headed.

Turns out, the mound at the top of Young’s Hill is still full of tasty wild plants, despite the yellowing foliage. I watched her pick some of the plants and eat them individually and then witnessed her “stripping” some of the other plants. She placed her hand at the base of the plant stem and drew upwards, stripping the plants of their leaves and then stuffing them in her mouth. Watching this reminded me of the videos I’ve seen of wild chimpanzees stripping termites off of the blades of grass they used to dip into holes in termite mounds. (The termites pinch the blades of grass and hold on as the chimpanzees pull the grass from the mound. Then the chimps eat the termites using their hands or mouths).

I love that this lady seeks out wild “snacks” on Young’s Hill.

JODY!

August 6, 2016 by Diana

I woke up thinking that I should feature Jody on the blog today. She’s a bit more elusive than some of the other chimpanzees, so we don’t get as many photos and videos of her.

She does have her routines, though.

Today, we spread a forage on the hill at lunch, and Jody, true to form, collected the food she wanted, came back inside, and emptied it on the deck while she sat on the lower part of the platform in the greenhouse.

Then, she spent some time relaxing – we often see her in this position:

She did a little self-grooming:

Graciously allowed me to take some close-up photos of her beautiful face:

Volunteer Lynn and I were talking about Jody’s very round eyes that often appear to be hopeful or excited about something:

She soon retired to the cooler playroom for a post-meal siesta:

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Climbing to new heights

July 17, 2016 by Keri

It’s always great to share a story when one of the chimpanzees does something that we have not seen before. What is even better, is when we capture pictures or video footage of it!

This morning, we spread fruit (apples and peaches) throughout Young’s Hill, as part of the chimps’ breakfast. For those of you new to the blog, Young’s Hill is the chimps’ 2 acre outdoor enclosure, with open skies overhead. On the hill, are a variety of wooden structures (Twister, Carlene’s Tower & Jamie’s Lookout to name a few) and bridges, fire hoses and tire swings for the chimps to climb and sit on. There is also Negra’s cabin, built with the Queen herself in mind.

We threw some of the cut up fruit on top of Negra’s cabin, with Missy in mind. She is the chimp most likely to climb that structure. But, today some of the other chimps beat her to it, one of which, most of us do not think we have ever seen climb to the top.

In all honesty, climbing isn’t exactly one of Burrito’s strong points. He can be a little awkward and doesn’t exhibit the most grace when climbing. But, when I stop to think about it, it’s not something he grew up doing or was taught how to do. Having spent decades in a cage the size of a bathroom stall, there isn’t much space or need for climbing to get from one place to another.

We’re just happy to see Burrito expanding his horizons to include climbing Negra’s cabin…perhaps, peaches and apples were the motivating factors 🙂

One of each, please

July 16, 2016 by Diana

Jody wins today’s lunch forage

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Then and Now

June 2, 2016 by Elizabeth

For lunch today, we set out a forage on Young’s Hill.

Life is so dramatically different for the Cle Elum Seven these days than it was just eight years ago. Gone are the days of climate-controlled, windowless buildings, hard surfaces, and cramped spaces. Life now is bright green grass, warm sun, gentle breezes, and roses for lunch.

Missy: